Every year, I think I say the same thing– while summer is definitely my season, I love Advent. I don’t love the cold that we encounter this time of year (and how the heck was I of all people born right before winter officially begins?!), but I love the magic and warmth that come during Advent.
While it’s a season of anticipation, building up to Jesus’s birthday on December 25, there is so much magic that surrounds this season. More than any other time of year, I sense that the unexpected is to be expected. I also feel closest to God during this time, or at least through Our Lady of Guadalupe whose Feast Day I share with my birthday (or, rather, she shares her day with me).
While I know for many people, it’s a season about gifts, I don’t think it’s ever really been all about that for me unless you include my childhood where I freely admit it was about the Barbie bathtub I really wanted (and did get!). I enjoy the energy and joy that surround the decorations, the music, the possibility of snow, and the traditional foods that we eat.
I also enjoy having people over, feeding them food I have made, food that’s sometimes been a part of my entire life. That’s my big gift to everyone this time of year– good food and the conversation that goes with it. I believe Jesus would like that, too, as he seemed to impart his wisdom at many dinner tables.
There’s more to the Advent season, the holiday season, than meets the eye if we allow the unexpected to rush through our front doors and give us all an energy boost that comes from within. And fulfills us in ways we never could have expected.